Bathhouse Row art museum to close in Hot Springs

The Museum of Contemporary Art on Hot Springs' Bathhouse Row couldn't make it financially and is to permanently shut down at the end of the month.

Museum board chairman Charlie Canterberry said Thursday the museum has struggled to raise money and can't sustain operations. Canterberry said he's grateful for the support he received from Hot Springs National Park Superintendent Josie Fernandez and her staff.

He said that like many other nonprofits, the museum has struggled to raise capital, which it needs to bring quality exhibitions to Hot Springs.

The Sentinel-Record reports (http://is.gd/Siq2TQ ) the museum signed a 60-year lease with the National Park Service in 2008 to operate in the Ozark Bath House. The park service has supported renovations of the historic bath houses to turn them into viable commercial properties.

"We have notified them and will be discussing it with them and working together as we go through the procedure," Canterberry said.

The museum board formed in 2003, and the museum opened in the Ozark Bath House in 2009, drawing thousands of visitors over the past four years.

The space hosted numerous exhibitions, including a show of portraits by photographer Mike Disfarmer that illustrate the lives and emotions of rural people during the early days of struggling America.